Should Clients Be Touched By Therapists? Some Say No, I Say, Develop A Balanced View

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I’m a firm believer in the power of love and compassion to open doors, change minds, and renew hearts. I have always worked with clients who have severe trauma histories, have been abused or neglected, and suffer from severe mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder with psychotic features and psychosis. The population of client’s I see are children and adolescents including families. This population often starves for love and compassion from almost anyone they come across in daily life. Why? Because society, including the field of psychotherapy, help perpetuate the idea that love and compassion are only for those people we know on a personal level and should be reserved for special moments. For example, we don’t have to worry that our love and compassion toward uncle Mit will ever come back to bite us in a lawsuit claiming sexual harassment. But with a client who, tends to be very emotionally needy, this reality is often on the mind of most therapists. It is important to emphasize that not all clients should be touched and not all therapists should become vulnerable with their clients. But it is also true that not all therapists should become cold, stoic “healers” for fear of lawsuits. This article will examine this very controversial problem still holding many therapists captive today.

Today’s Date

My Mission

I founded and designed AnchoredInKnowledge.com in 2009. I knew that I wanted to help people learn what they didn’t know but didn’t know exactly how. After completing graduate school and landing an internship in a teaching hospital, I updated this website with the intention of marketing my services to children and adolescents only.

However, over the past 10 years of consulting with parents, families, and caregivers and treating suffering young people internationally, I realized their strong need for navigation through the muddy waters of the mental health system. During the same time I became certified in trauma therapy.

I strive to walk with all of my clients through tough times, help them explore what their challenges mean to them, and motivate them to find the faith, purpose, and peace to survive.

I am a mental health therapist working with psychological trauma, self-harm, and suicidal teens including angry, oppositional, or anxious and depressed kids. When I’m not working with these youths I am helping confused parents, families, and caregivers navigate the mental health system.

I bring both personal and professional experience with challenges of living and I combine these things in my work.

I hope this website serves as a resource and motivator for you.

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